by Kevin Kern Managing Partner Back in May, we noted that the House had passed a bill that if approved in the Senate would set sweeping changes to many retirees and beneficiaries of IRAs. Well, it looks like Washington was able to agree on something this year as the Secure Act was passed by Congress in...Read More

by Kevin Kern Managing Partner By now most understand that the popular explanation for the phrase “Black Friday” is because the day represented the point in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit, thus going from being “in the red” to being “in the black”. It can also represent the darkness that has...Read More

by Joseph Pecoraro When is the deadline? The deadline for a contribution to a 2019 traditional or Roth IRA is the same as the tax-filing deadline—April 15.   If you wait until April 15 to make the contribution, you can also make a contribution for 2020 at the same time or wait until this time next year....Read More

by Jeff Deiss CFP, AEP, Wealth Advisor Absent any last-minute changes from Congress, below are a few year-end tax reminders.  This list is not exhaustive and a conversation with your tax advisor is always recommended. Harvest gains and losses before year-end, which is a classic year-end planning technique and one that we employ regularly at year-end...Read More

by Dr. Charles Lieberman Chief Investment Officer The sluggish behavior of capital investment is commonly highlighted as one of the key concerns when people worry about a weak economy.  But investment spending is an amalgam of several types of spending with only one component that is quite weak. Much of the weakness in capital investment over...Read More

Most every day there are multiple articles advising investors on how to prepare for the impending recession, or forecasting recession, or highlighting the vulnerability of record stock prices to the widely expected recession.  These articles reflect the need of the media to attract eyeballs and the desire of some pundits to garner attention.  Anyone can...Read More

by Jeff Deiss CFP, AEP, Wealth Advisor The Social Security Administration announced last week that benefits and the maximum amount of wages subject to payroll taxes will increase by 1.6% in 2020.  This reverses the trend of higher increases over the past two years and while it is more than a full percentage point less than...Read More

by Paul Broughton It’s mid-October which means fall football, playoff baseball, and beautiful fall scenery.  This fall, however, financial markets still seem to be experiencing above average amounts of uncertainty due to ongoing trade disputes and concerns over slowing economic growth.  And, quietly and somewhat reluctantly, the Federal Reserve Bank has increased its monetary accommodation and...Read More

by Jeff Deiss CFP, AEP, Wealth Advisor It’s that time of year when Medicare beneficiaries receive a barrage of television ads and mail regarding the fall annual election period (AEP).   Many aren’t sure whether the election period applies to them or if they need to take any action.  AEP runs from October 15 to December 7 each...Read More

by Jeff Deiss CFP, AEP, Wealth Advisor There have been several “head fakes” over the past few years where the consensus indicated an economic recession was imminent and yet here we are. We waste precious time and energy worrying about seemingly serious issues (quantitative easing (“QE”) after the financial crisis was going to be massively inflationary,...Read More